Been There Done that...

We can now say we have been to Cradle Mountain and done the walk....yes we walked for over two hours in the freezing cold and rain, but we did it, over the mountains and round the lakes. Don't think we will do that again and we were all pleased when we had finished. Only Keith went back for a second walk in the afternoon!!! Debby and Gerry had a cabin with a very warm heater so the rest of us took full advantage of that.
Monday, 1 March, the first day of autumn, we are not sure what the temperature was but the frost was very white and it was 1 degree the first time we looked.
We then travelled on through Burnie and are staying in a little beachside place called Boat Harbour Beach. Keith and I are parked on the beach and Debby, Gerry, Anne and John are staying in a luxury apartment.............they are tempting me with the spare bedroom but............... It is so nice we have decided to stay here tomorrow night as well.
Keith is very envious of you Brian and has said many times that he would like to come back on his bike. The road kill seems to be wallabies or paddy melons.

Six Weeks (but who is counting)

At 5pm today we have been gone for 6 weeks. In some ways if feels like 6 months and others the time has gone quickly.
I am looking forward to meeting up with Debby and Gerry and their friends Anne and John in Launceston tomorrow.
We are in Evansdale a very, quaint, tidy town not far from Launceston. We have left the beautiful coastline for the time being.

We've been to Falmouth again.........

About 6 months ago we were in Falmouth, Cape Cod with Wayne and Katrina for Ben and Renee's wedding. We just couldn't resist having a look at the one in Tassie. Very little there but beautiful beaches.
Also just have to mention that when we were parked at Swincart Beach last night........guess where our neighbours were from, yes, you guessed it, Scarness, Hervey Bay.
It has been a lovely drive again today along the coastline and we are now at Bicheno, staying the night in a caravan park.
Never a dull moment.

The Apple Isle

It is true what everyone says about Tasmania, so far the places we have been, have been beautiful. We are presently camped beside the Pacific Ocean in the Bay of Fires near St Helens. It is a lovely spot with aqua blue water and white sand.
At the moment we are heading anti clockwise doing the north east but that will change after we meet Debby and Gerry in Launceston on Friday.
We did go to Beaconsfield but unfortunately our camera decided to play up then so have no photos..............I was sure I would see Brent and Todd and not be able to take their photo!! Luckily we didn't see them. The camera is fine again.............it was not the camera it was us, believe it or not!!
Everywhere you go there is water either the sea or the river so Keith is happy and as you know if Keith is happy, so am I.........he,he.
I will add some photos when we find a McDonalds again!!

We Made It.......

We crossed Bass Strait no worries at all. I dosed up on sea sickness tablets but the water was so flat I probably didn't need then. I wasn't taking any chances. I mostly slept and ate for the time although we did watch Mao's Last Dancer at the movies which helped pass a couple of hours.
We arrived in Devonport about 7.40pm and spent the next two hours in a queue waiting to get off the boat and then through quarantine with officers checking for that "deadly" fruit! We are now at a caravan park with a beautiful view of the water and I can't believe how many people have been swimming today. More than you would ever see in HB! It is supposed to be 22 degrees here today but it maybe a little higher.
Not sure where the road will take us tomorrow..........

It's time

Yes, time to get into the 3/4 pants.........cool mornings and will probably get cooler in Tasmania. Have stocked up on sea sickness tablets and magazines for the trip tomorrow.
Had the day in Melbourne city where I met my nieces Nat and Sam and friend Chris. Was good to see some familiar faces.

The places we go and the people we meet.......

Sorry the "Winners are Grinners" photo didn't eventuate.......not sure what happened.
We have just been to Maryborough....couldn't resist seeing the name sake. It looks much the same as the Qld one really. We passed through a town called Amphitheatre............I think that would have to be one of the strangest names for a town I have seen.
We are now at Kyneton staying the night before we go on to Melbourne tomorrow to catch the Spirit of Tasmania on Thursday. We are going into the city, maybe have a look at some shops, and Keith is going to the museum at the MCG.
We were just walking through the park when we noticed a Buccaneers sticker on the back of a car with Qld number plates. The fellow was just getting to his car. Turns out the car belongs to a friend, Brendan Frawley for anyone from Hervey Bay. We don't actually know him but have heard of him. He now lives down this way and his wife is still teaching in HB. He has Japanese students for a couple of nights and they insisted we have our photos taken with them!! We could become famous in Japan.
Another person we have met is Keith's cousin, Kerrie, who he hasn't seen for about 50 years.............he actually believes he has never seen her but....... We booked into the caravan park at Halls Gap and the lady told us there was another Hinks booked in so we went and made ourselves known. None of us could believe the coincidence. She has been in other places that we have been.

I could write a poem about it........

Winners are grinners...

It was so hot even I went for swim with my noodle in the river at Barham

We are thinking of upgrading

The beautiful Murray, Torrumbarry

Keith looking for a new pair of thongs at Echuca......

******TRAVEL WARNING*****

If you are intending to do the travel thing..........do not travel the route we did at this time of the year. I didn't know it could get so hot and the flies........

Goodbye Murray

River that is!! We have now left the river and are presently sitting in the car park of McDonalds on the internet!! We don't even have to spend 50 cents to use their wifi. That's what we not so grey nomads do............look for bargains.
We are in Stawell and unfortunately couldn't re-enact the gift as they were playing cricket on the oval. It is a lovely place thought with beautiful rose gardens.
We are edging our way to Melbourne and heading for Halls Gap in the Grampians. We leave for Tasmania on Thursday. At least it is not nearly as hot as it has been and we are having a good time.
I am going to attempt to put on some photos......think I'll try separately.

The Big Cohuna

Actually it is quite small but it is a little town on the Murray and we happened across the Neighbourhood Centre with free internet so couldn't pass up a chance to say hello and it is air conditioned. We spent the hottest night of our journey last night...........not a breath of wind!

We were walking through Woolworths yesterday in Echuca and ran into a girl (about my age) we used to know in Hervey Bay. What a coincidence............we went around to their place (Gail and Owen Suter) for a drink and a chat before we continued on. We hadn't seen or heard of them for nearly 10 years and didn't even know they loved there.

It is nearly time to face the heat..............never a dull moment.

Alive and well

I am back again at McDonalds..........contrary to some opinions we have been having a g-r-e-a-t time doing a bit of free wheeling or should I say camping or maybe both............. We found a lovely spot right next to the Murray River near Barooga, you may have to check the atlas for that one. The first night it bucketed down with 125mls rain and I really thought we would be stranded on an island when I looked out the door. Lucky for Keith we weren't although he liked the prospect of being stranded on a deserted island, I on the other hand thought differently. It was very busy on the river on Saturday with boats of all sorts.

We ended up staying three nights as Keith has a fascination with the Murray, with most rivers actually. We are off to find another lovely camp spot beside the river this afternoon. Last night we were civilised and stayed in a caravan park in Echuca. This is a lovely spot and did the tourist things this morning, the paddlesteamer ride up the Murray and visited the Holden museum.

Sorry no photos again as I left my camera card in the bus. Any requests for photos.............I know Tania is wanting photos of plaques, can't imagine why.

Bingo....

Yes I mean Bingo..............I introduced Keith to the competitve game of Bingo! We were staying in the caravan park next to the Water Ski Club at Walhala, walked in to have a look and Bingo was about to start.............and we had a couple of hours to spare.............unfortunately we didn't win.
This Watert Ski Club has 6000 members and is the biggest in the world. We didn't see any water skiing though.
We are on the Victoria/NSW border and stayed in Victoria one night at Yarrawonga and the next back in NSW. They are both nice spots.
Moving on again today to who knows where............never a dull moment

Hallelulia

I have finally published the photos. Maybe I should try one at a time next time. We are at Corrowa in McDonalds using WiFi free internet. Works a treat. We did it, Brian.

The photos again

In the meantime, thanks to Tania for including some for me.............